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Pan de yuca or cheese bread

Ecuadorian pan de yuca are small cheesy breads made with yuca flour (cassava/tapioca starch) and cheese. There are variations of these delicious breads in many Latin countries. They are known as chipas in Paraguay/Argentina, pan de queso in Colombia, cuñape in Bolivia, and pao de queijo in Brazil. The variations and exact ingredients vary from one place to another, my recipe for pan de yuca is made with yuca starch, cheese, butter and eggs. Yuca bread makes a delicious warm appetizer and the breads can be made in advance and baked minutes before serving. Leftover breads will get hard when they get cold, but can be reheated in the microwave (great for breakfast the day after). The flour is made from yuca root, and is also known as cassava or tapioca starch, the flour can be found in specialty stores.

Remove the dough from the food processor and roll into a ball, you can make the dough ahead and store in the refrigerator for up to a day.

To make the dough by hand, combine all the ingredients in large bowl, using melted (cooled down) butter, and mix until you have a smooth dough. It's actually very easy to prepare by hand.

Pre-heat the oven to 500 F.

Make small round shaped breads with the dough and place on a cookie sheet with parchment paper.

Bake immediately or store in the fridge until ready to bake. I find that they turn out best if you do let them chill in the fridge for about 30 minutes before baking.

Once the oven reaches 500F, turn on broiler, place the breads on the middle rack and bake until the breads are golden, about 5-7 minutes. Another option is to pre-heat the oven to 400F and bake at 400F for about 5 minutes and then turn on the broiler.

In Ecuador, pan de yuca is usually served with yogurt smoothies and there are several restaurants whose specialty is yuca bread with yogurt. I usually serve yuca bread as an appetizer, with tree tomato aji, but they are also great for breakfast or with an afternoon coffee or tea. My kids love yuca bread and I always let them have some dough so they can make their own shapes: ovals, triangles, spirals, etc. They get very excited as they watch the oven and wait for their bread to be ready.

I used to make yuca bread by hand, and it is probably one of the easiest breads to make by hand, the ingredients are easy to mix, but it is a little bit sticky, so I tried using the food processor instead and it works great. If you don’t have a food processor or prefer to make it by hand, just melt the butter to make it easier to mix the ingredients.

Had these at a Brazilian restaurant and they were fabulous so immediately tried to find a recipe online. Found your recipe and now have mine chilling in the fridge for 30 minutes. Can’t wait to try them!

How long do you think you could keep these in the fridge if you wanted to make them ahead of time for dinner guests? Could you keep them a couple hours in the fridge? Overnight, if covered? Or would the butter and cheese be too firm?

Hi Lisa – They can stay in the fridge for a couple of days. You can also freeze them (place them on a baking sheet lined with wax paper, freeze them, and then put them in a freezer bag) and then bake them directly.

Layla, I ate these with Ecuadorian Avocado Soup while in the Peace Corps. Could you find the Avocado Soup from around the mid-sixties and print it? Thanks so much for your site. I have always said “I should have stayed in Ecuador”. Yuca bread from Chone and Biscochos from Cayambe were heavenly.

Thank you so much for the wonderful recipes. My husband and I are moving to Cuenca and me being a true foody, this site opens many doors for me. I will be making your Chicken and rice soup today ( snowing today) and these rolls for dinner. My 80 year old mother-in-law has Celiac disease and I will have her over.

Thank you, thank you!!!!! I had these in Florida and a few years back and every time I go visit I make sure I take a bag full home which is El Paso right now…. I can’t wait to make them, all I have to do is find some yucca flour… I look forward to trying more of ur recipes…..

This bread is far healthier than other types of bread because it is made with yucca. All wheat (and the flour that is made from it) is genetically altered and has been shown to be the cause of major health problems…diabetes, metabolic syndrome, heart disease and cancer. While yucca is a carbohydrate and therefore contributes to insulin levels, it is far healthier than wheat.

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Layla Pujol is an Ecuadorian modern-day nomad who loves to cook and travel. She lives in Seattle and is currently working on her first cookbook, which will focus on delicious Ecuadorian and Latin recipes (adapted to her style). More